Genetic mapping and phenotypic analysis of shot in Drosophila melanogaster

Genetic screens are used to identify genes involved in specific biological processes. An EMS mutagenesis screen in Drosophila melanogaster identified growth control phenotypes in the developing eye. One mutant line from this screen, H.3.2, was phenotypically characterized using the FLP/FRT system and genetically mapped by complementation analysis and genomic sequencing by undergraduate students participating in the multi-institution Fly-CURE consortium. H.3.2 was found to have a nonsense mutation in short stop (shot), anortholog of the mammalian spectraplakin dystonin (DST). shot and DST are involved in cytoskeletal organization and play roles during cell growth and proliferation.